Revenge of the Dark: Between Justice and Duty
by DragonShadow
Summary: Costarring Danny Phantom. An ancient Te Xuan Ze attempted to wipe out the ghost race forever, and now it's time for June to take up this task. But even if it's her duty, is it the right thing to do?
1. Chapter 1

Revenge of the Dark: Between Justice and Duty

11 years old and so much responsibility. She wasn't supposed to be doing this, thought Juniper Lee. Poring over tome after tome, each seemingly older and dustier than the last while her dog gave her lectures like a third grade teacher from Hell. Sure, being the Te Xuan Ze, the magical protector of the border between the normal world and the world of magical creatures, was supposed to be some great honor. And she saw things that no others humans would dream could possibly be real outside of fantasy and fiction.

On the other hand... look at these books! They were older than her grandmother's great grandmother, and that was probably an understatement. And they were about as boring as her grandmother's great grandmother, if not more so. She could only hear about so many different minute variations of dragons and potato-growing potions before they began to run together, and she could feel her eyes beginning to close.

"June!" A hefty bark roused her from a light doze, her back straightening and her eyes opening wide.

"Cottontail Dragons spit fairy dust! Guh... wha?" June reached up to put a hand to her head woozily. The sudden motion had sent the room into a violent spin. "Sorry, spell overload I think. Can I leave my room yet?"

Monroe sighed and reached up to run one stubby paw over his eyes. "You know ye need t'know this stuff." He said with his usual Scottish accent, looking into her eyes seriously. "As the Te Xuan Ze it's-"

"My responsibility to police the world of magic to make sure they don't start affecting the world of humanity, or hurting each other. Yeah, I get it; I'm an unpaid magical police officer. I should so file a lawsuit for underage enslavement." She smirked and leaned back against her headboard, resting her hands behind her head and looking down at the book in front of her, really noticing what chapter they were on for the first time in thirty minutes. "Ghosts?"

"As I was saying, lass. Part of the Xe Xuan Ze's responsibility is to keep the worlds of humanity and magic in balance, and that includes dispelling any remnants of either one." Monroe stated.

"Remnants? Now this is something I haven't heard before." Juniper leaned forward, really interested in this sudden turn of events. "Are you saying ghosts are real?"

"Not only are they real, they're becoming a problem." Monroe said. "More and more across the world they're cropping up, sometimes harmless, other times less harmless. And I think it's time we did something about it. Now are you going to start paying attention? You have to be off tomorrow."

"Me?" Juniper asked in surprise. "You're not going to come with me?"

"Well I have... books to read and lessons to prepare. Besides, it'll be a simple matter for you to find the center of the ghost phenomena with this." Monroe climbed to his stubby legs and trotted over to June's bookshelf, grabbing a green sphere the size of Juniper's fist and bringing it back to her. June took it from him, looking into its swirling green depths curiously.

"What's this?" She asked.

"A Spirit Orb." Monroe replied intelligently. "It's the main tool a Te Xuan Ze has against rogue spirits. It has the power to dispel them and send them on to the great beyond, where they can rest in piece."

"So, what is the great beyond anyway? I've always been curious about that." June asked.

"How should I know? It's not like anyone's ever gone and come back." Monroe replied, though his tone was somewhat defensive. He interrupted her before she could ask any more questions. "I've already pinpointed a general location in the vicinity of a town on the West Coast."

"I'm going halfway across the country alone?" Juniper asked, startled. "But what about my mom? She has to notice I'm gone. Not to mention my friends and teachers, I can't just take off like that." In truth, she didn't really want to take off alone. Sure she liked being independent, but without even Monroe there how was she supposed to keep a cool head? She wasn't that experienced as the Te Xuan Ze yet.

"Oh! Oh! I'll chaperone!" A small black-haired form darted out from under her bed, latching onto her like a leech and clinging for dear life, staring up into her eyes. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease! I've always wanted to go there!"

"You don't even know where we're going yet." Juniper pointed out drolly as her little brother, Ray-Ray, gave her the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. Which weren't bad she had to admit.

"Come on June, it'll get me out of school with a GOOD excuse, what more reason do I need?" Ray-Ray pointed out.

"Aye, it's difficult to argue with that logic." Monroe quipped.

"Fine, but you have to come too Monroe." Juniper stated. The little dog did a double-take, staring up at her incredulously. "Come on, I can't be doing my Te Xuan Ze duties AND watching Ray-Ray at the same time. I need you to babysit when I get busy. I have my responsibilities and you have yours, which include protecting Ray-Ray."

"I'm your teacher, not your babysitter." Monroe pointed out.

"You're also my dog, and dogs take care of their owners." Juniper countered.

"Agh, I hate bein' a pet. Why couldn't I have been a lemur or something nobody relies on?" Monroe smirked slyly. June ignored that comment. "Fine, I'll come along and watch yer brother." Ray-Ray yipped happily and leapt on him, tackling him to the floor and squeezing his chubby body tightly. "Agh! Alright, lad, calm down! My bones aren't as strong as yours, or as young. Eugh..." He pushed himself up to his feet and stretched with an audible cracking of several bones. "We leave in the mornin', so both of you get a good night's rest."

"Yes sir." Juniper saluted mockingly and quickly shoved Ray-Ray out of her room before he could complain, locking the door behind him. Now that she wouldn't be alone, she was kind of excited about this. Orchid Bay was a nice place to live, but she'd always wanted to see more of the world. Now she had a chance without abandoning her responsibilities. This really could be fun.

Juniper Lee clung to the side of the carpet as it sailed through the air, its folds flapping in the wind as the ground passed by so far below them it looked like it was flat and featureless. "This is great!" Juniper exclaimed. "Monroe! Why didn't you ever tell me we had a real flying carpet lying around the house?" She demanded. Ray-Ray leaned over the side of the carpet, staring at the ground until he began to tip a little too far.

"YAA-" Ray-Ray began to scream, but one of June's arms shot out like a ship, grabbing the back of his pants to leave him dangling upside down over a thousand feet in the air. "Cooool! This is the best magical artifact ever!" He screamed. June yanked him back up and plopped him back down on the carpet. Behind him she could see Monroe giving her a droll smirk.

"Okay, point taken." June huffed and turned to face forward again. She looked down curiously when a soft green light began to emanate from her pocket. "Huh?" She reached into it and pulled out the palm sized Spirit Orb Monroe had given her. Its green shine had grown brighter, glowing serenely from the palm of her hand. "What's with this thing?"

"It must be detectin' ghost energy." Monroe replied, walking across the carpet to examine the orb closely. "We're getting' close to the center of the phenomena. I must say, it's strange that so much ghost energy could suddenly appear without warnin'. We've always been lookin' out for more ghosts, but none have been found since the great battle a thousand years ago."

"Great battle?" Juniper asked curiously.

"The last time a ghost was seen was over a thousand years ago, when the Te Xuan Ze tried to strike at the last of them and wipe them out for good." Monroe informed her.

"Wipe them out? That doesn't make it sound like a very worthy cause." June commented.

"Understand lass, that ghosts are manifestations of unfulfilled dreams. They wander forever futilely trying to accomplish what they couldn't in life. The Te Xuan Ze gives them rest after this long journey." Monroe told her wisely. "Which is what he was tryin' to do, when one of the more powerful ghosts got hold of some very powerful magical artifacts, the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire."

"They fought for days on end, but the power of the ghost, augmented by the two artifacts, was a match for the Te Xuan Ze's most powerful magics. Finally one day the ghost retreated when the Te Xuan Ze was tryin' to recover from the long battle. After that, no real ghosts have been seen until today. How there can be so many cropping up in a matter of weeks is a mystery we have to solve."

"Yeah well, leave it to a couple of pesky kids and their talking dog to solve this mystery." June quipped.

"There will never again be a talking dog that isn't compared to that one." Monroe grumped. "You know I'm older than him, by several hundred years."

"Sure Scoob, sure." June patted his head comfortingly with a mock-sad smile on her face. She covered her eyes when suddenly the orb between them flashed like a strobe light, its green energy pulsing outward in a strong wave before vanishing back into the dim glow it had before. "What was that?"

"So much ghost energy." Monroe walked to the front of the carpet and looked across the field. They were coming up fast on a city with a large sign beside the quiet road going toward it that read 'Welcome to Amity Park'. He looked back at the orb, which was now steadily glowing brighter and brighter the closer they got. "This place is teeming with it. How could we possibly miss this much buildup?"

"Hey, this is pretty cool." Ray-Ray grabbed the glowing Spirit Orb and held it up. "It's like a nuclear nightlight. Can I keep it?" June irritably snatched it away from him and stuffed it in her pocket again to drown out the blinding light.

The flying carpet arched downward toward the small city, landing on the outskirts so June, Monroe and Ray-Ray could climb off of it. Juniper approached the street and looked into the city for a moment before looking back at her companions. "Come on, we should try not to get separated. Wouldn't want Ray-Ray to get lost... I think." She smirked. Monroe cackled while Ray-Ray rolled his eyes and they both followed her further into the city.

It didn't take long before she noticed the glow from her pocket turn deep crimson, shining right through the cloth of her blue jeans. "What does that mean?"

"There's a ghost in close proximity." Monroe stated. "I think it's time to get to work."

"Right. You two stay here. I'll go have a look around." June glanced around to make sure nobody would see, then pulled the orb out of her pocket and moved it around. It glowed brightest crimson when it was pointed toward a nearby alley, so she made her way over to it, moving inside slowly with one hand sliding across the wall. She moved back into a small opening between the buildings, looking around. "Hello?" She moved into the center of the alley, where the orb stopped glowing brighter.

She looked around suspiciously, then slowly raised the orb over her head. Power seeped from her arms into the orb, and a massive green flash lit the alley. Surprised screams split the air as four forms materialized around her, each looking like something escaped from the circus, where green-skinned freaks were the norm. June lowered the orb and turned to face the one in the red cloak.

"I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help you." June raised the orb cupped in both hands. "Don't worry, I'll put an end to your pain." The freak opened her eyes, which glowed blood red underneath the shadow of her hood. "Just don't inflict any pain on ME, alright? WHOA!" June yelped in surprise as an arm stretched across the alley from another direction, slamming into her face and knocking her to the side while the orb flew from her hands.

She stumbled back, but her foot was knocked out from under her by a small midget rolling underneath her, sending her tumbling to her back. She yelled in surprise as a massive hulking ghost leapt over the serpent-like one, flying through the air with its fist held high over its head. It came down with all of its weight and strength, its fist driving downward and slamming into her cupped hands, halting against them.

"This is supposed to be a mission of mercy..." June grunted as she slowly climbed to her feet, pushing the massive fist back even as the strong ghost struggled to carry the punch through. "But it can be a hunt if you want it to be!" June shoved the fist aside and leapt forward in a rapid whirl. Her foot slammed into his chest, sending him hurtling back into a nearby building with the impact of a wrecking ball.

Instantly the others sprang into action, the one with the serpentine movements lurching at her with an enraged howl. June whirled and caught one whip-like arm, flinging her to the side to send her sailing into the strongman, but the midget slammed into her back like a bowling ball and bounced off, sailing over her head while she fell to her knees. The red-cloaked ghost pulled its cloak back, revealing a body heavily covered with various mystical tattoos.

June rose to her feet quickly as the tattoos split from the ghost's body, swarming toward her like a hive of bees. They slammed into her from every direction, knocking her around the back alley and up against a wall. She tried to fight back, but they were way too fast to pin down, and there were a dozen more attacking her from all sides at any given time. June shoved off of the wall and looked around for the Spirit Orb, which was lying against the wall where it'd been knocked out of her hands.

She dove for them, but couldn't keep an eye on all of the ghosts. One massive fist slammed into her side, slamming her into one of the brick alley walls hard enough to put a solid indent in it the shape of her body. June groaned, but another fist slammed into her face, knocking her through the wall in a shower of rubble. She fell into what looked like an empty hotel room, falling to the floor in a shower of bricks and rubble.

"Gugh... okay..." June panted and pulled herself up to a sitting position as the ghost freaks began to converge on her, each looking pissed off. "One against four... not good odds... no matter what powers you have..." She scooted back away from them as they converged. The strong man cracked his knuckles threateningly. "This is all a misunderstanding really... I'm not here to hurt you... I'm here to release you from your eternal wandering..." June pleaded.

"How sweet." The red-hooded freak said in a dark hiss. "Then maybe we should return the favor by freeing you from the pain of your flesh." She opened her cloak, as the Strong Man stepped forward, the midget riding on his shoulders while the serpent-lady pulled her hands into a pair of razor sharp blades.

"Get back!" A voice shouted suddenly as another form streaked out from behind her, a black and white streak that slammed into the four ghosts, taking them by surprise and knocking them back out into the alley. Juniper blinked in surprise and climbed to her feet, watching him land on the floor. He looked like a boy barely older than her, but there was something strangely unnatural about him, though she couldn't see his face.

Juniper watched the boy curiously. She couldn't hear what they were saying in the alley, but she could heart he red-cloaked ghost speaking in a violently harsh tone. Juniper hesitated a moment, then decided she didn't want him to have to fight her battle for her. She moved toward the hole in the wall, sliding up beside him to see the red-cloaked ghost ready to attack.

It stopped when it saw June emerge from the hole in the wall, looking once again ready for battle. The ghost's stance relaxed and she let the cloak fall about her shoulders again, obscuring her body from view. "Very well ghost-child, we'll leave her to you. But we will not stand for another of these insults."

Juniper watched them go suspiciously to make sure they really left. Suddenly she heard the boy beside her speak. "Okay, do you want to explain your side of what happened here?" He demanded with his arms crossed over his chest.

June looked at him incredulously. "What are you, my father?" She rolled her eyes and pushed past him to find her Spirit Orb. It was still in the corner where she'd dropped it, curiously still glowing bright crimson even though those other ghosts had left. She approached it and knelt in front of it, scooping it up in her palm. The only other person here was the boy, and the other ghost had called him 'ghost-boy.' After considering this a moment she stuffed the Spirit Orb into one pocket and stood up, turning back to him. "Look, I didn't mean to be rude, but you don't have to be so mean about this." She told him.

"Hey, I don't really like it when people pick fights with ghosts. It makes me have to fight and I'm not a violent person." The boy replied. "What did you think you were doing?" His strangely glowing green eyes stared into hers, his hands resting on his hips like he would haul her off to jail if she gave him the wrong answer. June decided that being forthright might be best in this situation.

"You're a ghost, aren't you?" June asked.

The boy looked puzzled by the question. "Huh? Yeah, are you gonna pick a fight with me now?" He asked.

"No no." Juniper said quickly. "I don't want to fight... but what is it like?" She asked. The boy stared at her cluelessly. "Being a ghost, with nothing but hope for a future that will never come, an endless futile search. That can't be a pleasant thing to go through." The boy stared at her searchingly, his eyes narrowing. She refused to look away, staring back. "That's why I'm here. I don't want ghosts to have to search anymore. I want them to rest."

The boy hesitated a moment, then turned away from her. "You don't know anything about ghosts." He said in a quick growl. "They're a lot more than you think, a ghost isn't mindless, they have lives, personalities. They're people..."

"They're people whose time has passed." June told him softly, trying to get him to help her without being mean about it. He was just a ghost after all, he deserved her sympathy, not her anger. "They need to move on. Please, will you help me?"

"Forget it." Suddenly the boy vanished from sight, and June looked down to see that the crimson glow was fading fast into the bright green that meant there were no longer any ghosts around. She sighed deeply, looking around the empty alley. This was going to be harder than she'd thought, these ghosts were pretty strong in numbers, and from what Monroe was saying, there had to be quite a few of them. She had to find a way to get them all at once.

Juniper turned to leave the alley, making her way back out to the sidewalk she entered from where Monroe and Ray-Ray were waiting. "That sounded like such a cool fight, why couldn't you let go of my shorts so I could go see it?" Ray-Ray demanded, yelling down at the pudgy little dog.

"What, you think I like the taste of your behind? I would've rather leapt right into a dragon's belly." Monroe retorted before turning to his pupil. "Did ye find anythin' important back there June?"

"I don't really know. A couple of ghosts, about what I expected. And one that kind of gave me the creeps." June shuddered.

"Well, come on, we have to keep lookin'." Monroe stated. "If we can find the exact source of this outbreak, we can stop it all at once."

"Okay, but next time I get to watch the big fight." Ray-Ray pouted. "I didn't come along on this stupid trip just to get bit on the butt." He rubbed his behind and moved to follow June and Monroe as they made their way through the city. June got a few more glowing red signals on her Spirit Orb, but they disappeared as quickly as she found them. Apparently word was spreading to avoid her, and she couldn't actually catch something that was invisible and on the lookout for her.

They spent move of the day wandering aimlessly until they were all moving like zombies down the sidewalk, occasionally catching a flash of red only to have it vanish a moment later. "This is booooring!" Ray-Ray complained loudly. "I thought this was a mission to find and defeat a bunch of evil people, not walk around all day! My feet are getting sore!"

"They're not evil, they're just lost." June corrected him. "But yeah, I have to agree with you for once. And if we don't wrap this up soon mom and dad will notice we're gone and we're going to get in so much trouble." She looked around as the sky began to darken. "And now it's almost nighttime, that'll make looking for invisible people even easier."

"We may have to spend the night here and face the music from your parents when we get this over with." Monroe said. "We can't just leave things the way they are now."

June sighed. "Oh well, I'll just tell them I spent the night at Ophelia's or something." She looked down at her brother. "And I can tell her we used you as a football."

"Ha ha." Ray-Ray rolled his eyes and turned to follow her as she made her way toward the nearest hotel. "If the hotel room doesn't have cable I'm going to scream."

They made their way into the hotel, where June paid for a single room and they found it up on the fourth floor. It was fairly roomy and had two beds, so they didn't have to fight over it, though Monroe didn't look too happy with the accommodations. June flew back onto the bed and put her hands behind her head while Monroe curled up on the pillow beside her head and Ray-Ray flipped on the TV, indeed letting out an ear-splitting screech when it got only local channels.

"Will you knock it off?" June threw a pillow at his head and he shut up, though he continued to grumble as he sat back to watch old Loony Tunes reruns. June leaned back again, staring at the ceiling.

"You alright, June?" Monroe asked softly.

"Monroe..." Juniper said softly, turning to look out the window above her head at the dimming evening sky as the last remnants of the sun began to vanish beyond the horizon. "Are you sure ghosts are just mindless memories? One of the ones I ran into earlier seemed so... alive. Are you sure they're everything you say they are?"

"Aye. Ghosts are the ethereal manifestations of what they were when they were alive." Monroe replied knowledgeably. "They seem alive because they act like they did at death, but they no longer grow or feel anything but unending sorrow. That's why they become ghosts."

"It doesn't feel right though..." June trailed off for a moment, looking down at her shoes as she kicked her legs a bit. "The ones I ran into seemed pretty conscious, and that boy... talking to him was just like talking to a normal person. If he wasn't glowing and flying around and vanishing, I never would've known he was a ghost. What if we're wrong about them?" She looked over at her canine mentor. "What if they're no different from us?"

"June, regardless of whatever reservations you may have, it is the sworn duty of the Te Xuan Ze to send the spirits on to the great beyond." Monroe reminded her. "And when the time comes, you have to be ready to do it. No matter how lifelike the ghosts may seem. It is your duty, and it is what's best." Juniper looked down at him, then pursed her lips and nodded before looking back up at the moon now surrounded by gently glittering stars.

Soon she drifted off into a light sleep, the sound of the TV droning in on the background lost as her brother undoubtedly drifted off without bothering to turn it off, as he typically did when he could find an excuse to stay up past his curfew. She lay silent and still on the comfortable bed, her chest gently rising and falling with her every breath until she felt a light wind brush over her cheeks.

"Huh...?" Juniper opened one of her eyes groggily, looking up at the now-open window. She could see the boy from before perched comfortably on the windowsill, staring down at her with his eerie green eyes glowing in the dark night around him, his snow-white hair weaving in front of his face in the gentle breeze from the window. June sat up quickly in surprise, her eyes going wide. "You? What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"How do you know about the ghosts here?" The boy asked. His tone wasn't demanding or pretentious, rather it sounded like a curious question. "What do you know about them?"

June looked down at Monroe, still sleeping beside her on the bed. She wished he would wake up and tell her how to handle this, but she decided that there was nothing wrong with honesty here. He seemed like a reasonable guy. She turned to look back up at him. "I know about them because it's part of my mission here. I want to lay them to rest after their long journeys... I told you this before."

"And who are you?" The boy asked. June stared up at him a moment, then steeled herself again.

"Juniper Lee... my friends call me June." She told him. "And you are...?"

"Phantom." The boy replied. "Danny Phantom." Suddenly he held out his white-gloved hand to her. She recoiled a bit, looking down at his hand in surprise. "Come with me, and I can take you to where the ghosts hide." June looked up at his face.

"You want to help me now? Why the change?" June asked.

"Because I think you may be right... they... we... need to rest." He told her. His voice wavered uncomfortably as June stared at his preferred hand. She glanced down at Monroe again, knowing he would kill her if she just took off like this, especially with a boy she barely knew. But she would never be a good Te Xuan Ze if she always played it safe and stuck by him. So she took the kid's hand and suddenly she felt herself yanked forward, phasing straight through the wall.

"Yaaargh!" June flailed with her free limbs, convinced for a moment that she was falling, but she stopped when she realized her body was now weightless, being pulled through the sky by the kid in the black and white suit, Danny Phantom. She settled down and looked down upon the town of Amity Park, seeing it pass by quickly underneath her. It looked beautiful in the pale moonlight, but she didn't have time to enjoy the view. Danny was all business, yanking her suddenly down toward a peculiar building, but she didn't have time to see exactly what it was.

They went straight through the ceiling without touching it, phasing several floors down until they reached a steel-coated basement, where the boy landed and set her down on the floor beside him.

"What is this place?" June asked breathily, looking around the lab. For some reason the very impersonal nature of it made her uncomfortable, and a small shiver ran down her spine. "It's so... cold and metal."

"Yeah well, it's the best place to make something like this." June watched as Danny approached a set of large steel doors set against one wall. As he approached the doors began to slide open, revealing a swirling vortex of pure green energy that shone from behind Danny's body like an eclipse. June's eyes went wide as she stared at the energy and moved to stand beside him.

She blinked in surprise when she realized there was another glow, this one coming from her pocket. She reached into it and pulled out the Spirit Orb, which flared to brilliant crimson life, easily drowning out the portal and forcing her to close her eyes and turn away lest she be blinded. "What is that?" Danny asked.

"It's my Spirit Orb." Juniper explained. "It detects ghosts and puts them to rest, but I didn't know it could get like this. There has to be hundreds, maybe thousands of ghosts in there."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Danny replied. "The Ghost Zone is where ghosts go. They used to all be trapped in there until my d... I mean... an inventor decided to build this portal and accidentally let them out."

"Is that a fact..." June said softly, noting the strange shift mid-sentence. He must have been hiding something from her... but she wasn't going to pry when he was in the middle of helping her. In a moment she stuffed the Spirit Orb in her pocket to dull the intense glow, finally allowing her to open her eyes fully without burning them. She recalled what Monroe told her yesterday about stopping this. "I think I have to get to the center of this Ghost Zone. From there I should be able to neutralize it and let all of the poor souls rest."

The boy remained strangely silent, glancing at her, and then turning to stare into the swirling green vortex. "You okay?" June asked.

"I'm fine." She gasped softly when Danny gripped her wrist tightly in one of his gloved hands. "Center of the Ghost Zone... where else would a king put his throne?" June didn't have time to ask what he meant before he plunged forward into the vortex, yanking her in as well. She would have scolded him about yanking her along, but she found herself rendered speechless by the infinite void that opened before her, every sight shimmering with a ghostly haze among the multitude of doors that floated through the emptiness.

June barely had time to take it all in, looking about in awe as the strange empty universe passed by them. Danny seemed to know precisely where he wanted to go, weaving through the doors and the shimmering green clouds with practiced ease until she spied a land mass appearing in the distance, upon which stood a massive castle that must have dated back to the feudal era, if not well before.

Danny landed outside of the castle, setting June down beside him and releasing her hand, looking up at the castle. June stared up at it, then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You coming in?" She asked.

"No..." Danny said softly. "I don't think I can. I need to go... do something." With that Danny left her behind and turned to float away through the empty green space. June stared after him, wanting to call out. He'd seemed so distraught, like he was in utter turmoil over all of this. Well, she could release him from his pain once she reached the center of this castle.

She turned to head inside, shoving open the massive double-doors and entering like she owned the place. Up a set of winding stairs that almost seemed to shift among themselves, glowing with ethereal energy, tricking her eyes into thinking they were vanishing and reappearing. She steeled her resolved and continued up them, reaching a long corridor that seemed to stretch longer even than the castle was wide.

She began to walk, but no matter how far she went, the corridor seemed to stretch on and on. She glanced back, and saw that the corridor behind her stretched equally as far. "Hey now..." She took a few steps the way she came, and found that the illusion held. She broke into a sprint, but nothing changed. In both directions she could see the hallway continuing on and on forever.

"Okay, no big deal." June reached into one of her pocket and pulled out a small ring, slipping it onto her finger. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, her vision blurring before flaring to life again, this time seeing a thick black void surrounding her. "What is with this place? It's like somebody doesn't want me to get in." She said irritably.

"Such a quick mind you have." A strong-sounding voice said out of the darkness. June whirled in the darkness, her fists clenched and at the ready. "But I suppose that's why you're the newest Te Xuan Ze."

"You can't stop me." June said forcefully. "I'm going to get in there and put all of these poor souls to rest."

"I don't want to stop you." The voice said without a trace of doubt or worry. "Merely stall so that you're in the right place at the right time."

"Show yourself or let me go!" Juniper demanded.

"Very well my dear, since you asked so very nicely." Suddenly June blinked and found herself standing right in front of a pair of massive double doors. In fact, she was back outside the castle, with the swirling green vortex of the Ghost Zone at her back. She whirled and looked around, alert for the source of the voice from before, but there was nobody there.

"Weird... maybe I hit my head." June rubbed her forehead confusedly and turned on the large double doors, shoving them open and walking through. It was just a small corridor through the castle before she reached another pair of double doors, behind which she saw a magnificent throne room. Behind the throne was perched a gigantic sarcophagus, leaning against the far wall behind a small pile of rubble.

June approached the center of the throne room, pulling the Spirit Orb out of her jeans pocket. It was glowing so brightly it was like a miniature sun burning with red-hot flames. "Guess this'll do." She raised the orb over her head, the light flashing even brighter. "Let these poor, wandering souls rest for-" 


	2. Chapter 2

"No!" A voice screamed from the door just before a blast of green energy hit her arm, throwing the orb to the side. It slammed into the wall and bounced to the floor while June yelped, clutching her burnt arm. She clutched her arm and whirled around to see Danny Phantom standing by the exit, his arm outstretched and his open hand glowing. "I won't let you destroy the ghosts."

"What are you talking about? You led me here, you know this is for the best." June turned fully toward him.

"I thought that, but I was wrong!" Danny replied forcefully. "The ghosts aren't dead people or memories, they're living, breathing things!"

"You have a very broad definition of the word 'life'." June quipped.

"And it just got broader. Look, listen to me, I saw a ghost have a child." Danny said. Juniper raised one eyebrow, lowering her arms to her sides. "And anything that can give birth to new life can't be a dead memory, it just can't." June stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing. "You can't wipe them out. Sure they're different from us, but they still deserve to exist."

June didn't know what to say, he was right of course. A child... if she did this she would be killing a child. She could never do that. And yet... And when the time comes, you have to be ready to do it. No matter how lifelike the ghosts may seem. It is your duty, and it is what's best. Those had been Monroe's words earlier that night. No matter how lifelike they seemed... it was still her duty. There was so much riding on this, if she chose wrong, it could be disastrous. So she chose not to choose.

"It is my duty." June said defiantly, clenching her fists. Danny closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, frowning darkly.

"Fine. Then it's my duty to stop you." Danny raised his fists clenched at his sides, which began glowing with green energy. June moved into a low stance, her arms at the ready, her eyes locked on her opponent's. They faced each other for a moment, but suddenly Danny took flight, piercing the air to reach her in the blink of an eye, his glowing fist hurtling toward her face.

With magical speed, June's arm split the air up an upward motion, catching his wrist as her other fist slammed into his stomach, hurling him cleanly over her head to send him flying into the far wall. The impact shook the castle, but she took no notice, darting after him and flinging herself into the air, her long black hair flowing behind her as she came down, her leg lashing out at the last second.

Her leg just barely missed, gouging out a chunk of the sturdy brick wall as Danny slipped to the side. His fists pulsed just before a blast slammed into her chest, knocking her back to the center of the room. She skidded on her back before planting her hands on the ground, flipping to her feet in a crouch. Danny was on her before she even turned her eyes toward him, flying through the air like a bullet to land a solid uppercut.

June flew back through the air again, flipping through it with her head reeling. She felt a pair of hands grab her arms as a foot slammed into her lower back, sending her hurtling even harder straight into the wall face-first. She grunted as she peeled off of the wall and fell to the floor in a pile of debris, lying on the ground for a moment to allow her spinning head to steady itself.

She looked up when she heard a pair of footsteps approach. Danny Phantom stood over her with his hands on his waist, his glowing green eyes staring into hers furiously. "You don't care at all, do you? You just want to butcher them."

"I trust Monroe... and he says this is best." June pushed herself up slowly to her hands and knees, taking deep breaths to steady herself.

"Why don't you think for yourself?" Danny asked. "You've got to see that whoever told you that is wrong."

"I won't disgrace the name of the past Te Xuan Zes. I won't!" June lurched backward suddenly, yanking a small vial out of her pocket. Danny moved after her, but she hurled the vial at him. A green blast ripped the vial apart before it even got halfway there, sending a cloud of gas flying into his face. Danny coughed and sputtered as the smoke filtered into his lungs and its magical energies flowed into his eyes, Very quickly his glowing green eyes turned black.

June pressed the attack, lurching forward and slamming a fist into his stomach. Danny doubled over as the assault continued, her strikes battering him all across the large throne room until finally she grabbed his collar and hurled him into the throne, which cracked and split apart, sending him flying up against the large sarcophagus in a shower of wood and debris.

Danny Phantom groaned in pain and pulled himself up slowly, his white eyes beginning to regain their green glow. June bent down and scooped the Spirit Orb up off the ground, turning to walk toward him. "I'm sorry." She told him as she moved. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, and it's obvious you need to rest." She raised the orb in front of her, feeling its magical energies beginning to coalesce before her. "Rest in peace, Danny Phantom."

A powerful green beam emitted from the orb, shooting straight toward the ghost. Danny must have heard or seen the beam coming somehow, because he took flight mere seconds before it reached him, he flew over the beam, landing on the ground as it ended, all of the magical power filtering into the sarcophagus behind him. Danny stayed on his feet, growling, but June had ceased paying attention to him.

The sarcophagus began to groan, cracks of green energy flowing through the wooden structure. June stood transfixed as the cracks spread through the coffin, surging from green to red as it began to vibrate. Her gaze moved down to Danny as he turned to look at her, his eyes wide in fear.

"June. Run." He said stiffly. She didn't even have time to before the sarcophagus detonated, sending wooden splinters flying in every direction. June lifted her arms to protect her face from the wooden debris. At last the sound died and the debris stopped flying, so she lowered her arms to look. A massive form was standing before her, and looked extremely powerful. But she wasn't worried. She'd faced a God before, this was nothing.

The massive being stepped out of the rubble, its boot step causing the castle to tremble. "Even eternal sleep cannot contain me." It proclaimed victoriously as it stretched out, its back popping with a thunderously sickening noise.

He then looked down at the two relatively tiny figures, his eyes meeting June's, and then going wide in surprise. "I recognize that power." A dark growl escaped his throat. "The Te Xuan Ze... but you are a mere child. Is this truly the best that the most powerful line of mystical warriors has left?" He let out a hearty laugh, his hands clutching his stomach. "How the mighty have fallen."

June growled and clenched her fists angrily. "Oh yeah? I'll show you who's fallen!" She darted forward, rushing past Danny to hurl herself into the air.

"No! Don't!" She heard Danny scream from behind her, but she ignored him, whirling through the air, the magical energies of her birthright surging through her thin frame. She whirled through the air, her hair billowing out behind her as she steadied, her long leg moving in front of her, the power building as she began to near the massive ghost. She didn't even see the counterattack coming.

Something massive slammed into her side with the force of a hundred wrecking balls, seeming to knock the entire world into a state of scattered oblivion. She felt her body smash through a solid barrier before hurtling through the emptiness, her body limp as she struggled to hold onto what consciousness she had left. It was futile however, and the universe plunged into darkness.

She could feel something... something wet pressed against her forehead. A soft groan escaped her throat as her eyes slowly opened. She was lying in what looked like a normal living room. A girl with long red hair and green eyes was sitting on a chair beside the couch on which she lay, dabbing her head with a wet washcloth. She wore a blue bandana that kept her hair back, and a black sweater.

"Well, hello there." The girl smiled gratefully. "I was just thinking about calling an ambulance."

"Uhn..." June groaned. "Where...? How...?"

"You're safe, this is my house." The girl gestured to the room around her. "I found you in the basement lying in front of my dad's Ghost Portal. How did you get down there?"

June slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position, narrowing her eyes until her vision cleared enough for everything to come into focus. "Ghost Portal... he... he's still back there." She looked around quickly. "I've got to get back in there... oh man how could I mess up this badly? What did I just do? I have to do something..."

"Whoa, slow down." The red-haired girl said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, and let's start from the beginning. Hi, I'm Jasmine, my friends call me Jazz. And you are?"

"Juniper. June. Look, I really don't have time for this. I think I just made the biggest screw up I will ever make in my entire life." June said quickly as she pushed herself up from the couch, climbing to her feet. Jasmine stood up in front of her, looking surprised by the sudden move. "I've got to get back in that portal, he's still in there and he probably needs help!"

"Who needs you?" Jasmine asked confusedly. June took a deep breath and hurriedly explained everything that had happened in the Ghost Zone. By the time she finished Jasmine looked like she was about to faint. But she still took a deep breath and rubbed the side of her head thoughtfully. "We can get back there, I can help. But how are we going to defeat this guy?"

"I don't know, I'll play it by ear." June turned to march downstairs. Jasmine followed her quickly as June leapt down the second half, landing in a clean crouch and running for the portal.

"Whoa, hold on there!" Jasmine shouted. June whirled to look back at her, seeing her standing beside a compartment that had opened in the wall, where Jasmine was leaning up against what looked like a floating space shuttle. "I think it'd be better to take the Spectra Speeder and not fall endlessly through an infinite void of nothingness, don't you?"

June didn't say a word as she entered the Spectra Speeder with Jasmine, too wound up for her normal attitude to surface. Her stomach felt like it was going gymnastics. She couldn't believe what a mess she'd made. She'd wanted to put the ghosts to rest, not free this monster and get a good person trapped without her. How could she make such a mess of everything?

"You okay?" Jasmine asked after the small ship had entered the Ghost Zone, moving through it easily. June looked over at her from the passenger's seat, then looked out the front windshield again. "So what are you doing here, anyway? How do you know about this? I mean, I lived in the house with this portal for months before I found out it actually worked."

"It's a long story." June told her. Then she stopped a moment and looked over at her. "You're not a ghost, what do you think of them?" Jasmine looked at her in surprise. "Do you think they're real people... or just shadows of real people?" Jasmine looked down at the control panel thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.

"They have to be real people, I guess." Jasmine replied.

"Why do you think that?" June asked.

"I have my reasons." Jasmine replied cryptically. June knew that tone as one not to be questioned, so she settled in for the ride, waiting to once again reach the castle where she'd left Danny. Both girls gasped in surprise when a burst of flames ripped through the Ghost Zone toward them, vanishing in the direction they'd come from as quickly as it had appeared.

"What was that?" June asked in surprise.

"I don't know. But I think that's Danny." Jasmine pointed to a blinking dot on the radar screen in front of them. "If he's registering on the Real-World radar that must mean..." She gulped and pushed the throttle up higher, thrusting them on their way. June waited anxiously as they neared the castle. The Spectra Speeder flew straight in through the large double doors, flying inside the throne room before it came to a stop.

"Danny!" Jasmine lunged into the back and had the door open before June could even stand up. She rushed after the redhead, running out into the castle and running across the half-destroyed throne room. She skidded to a stop when she saw Jasmine knelt down beside a kid June didn't recognize. His hair was black, wearing a white shirt with read trimmings and a pair of plain blue jeans. His face and arms were covered in bruises, a bit of blood leaking from cuts and gashes.

"Danny, come on! Wake up!" June watched Jasmine grip his arms tightly, her eyes beginning to cloud over with tears. "Oh, I knew I should've been keeping a closer eye on you... come on Danny, pull through this. I know you can..." Her voice fell to a soft squeak, waiting for any response from the kid. June watched with one hand over her mouth, wishing he would just wake up... but he didn't. His body remained limp on the ground, his chest not even seeming to move.

This wasn't right... June was sure the kid she'd fought with was a ghost. Was this really the same kid who'd brought her here? Was it possible he was both? What did that mean? Could a ghost be 'alive'? June could leave him... one less ghost to send on to the great beyond... but the very thought of it made her heart wrench. No, she couldn't let his life end like this. She was the one who'd caused all of this, and even after she'd tried to kill him, he'd tried to save her.

Her mind made up, June rushed up to the body, her hand digging in one pocket for a small multifaceted crystal. When she pulled it out it reflected back the light of the Ghost Zone with a dazzling array of color, catching Jasmine's attention through her tears as Juniper knelt down beside the limp boy. Clutching the stone in her hand she slowly lowered it down onto his chest, her other hand moving to his forehead.

The Te Xuan Ze was the protector of the balance between the world of magic and the world of humans. As such, the magical energies of the universe were always at her command, often focused through physical objects like potions and stones. So they gathered now, focused through the stone in her palm, flowing from her body into the stone and into the body of the boy beneath her. A soft blue light filtered through her fingers, emanating from the stone, but there was no other outward sign of the powerful magic at work.

Jasmine watched through her tears, covering her mouth with her hands until suddenly Danny took a breath, gasping for air like he'd just come up from the ocean's depths. Jasmine's eyes went wide as he took another, and another. The powerful glow of the stone spiked for a moment as he took a deeper breath, then faded completely as the boy drifted back to normal, his chest gently rising and falling against her hand.

"D... Danny?" Jasmine squeaked softly. June removed the stone from his chest and shoved it in her pocket as Danny's eyes slowly opened, now plain old blue as they cast about above him. They soon locked onto Jasmine's eyes.

"Jazz...?" Danny said softly. "I feel like crap..."

"Don't speak. Here, we have to get you home to rest." Jasmine wrapped an arm around his neck and slowly pulled him up. Danny leaned against her heavily as she dragged him to his feet. She had a bit of trouble. So June stepped forward quickly to wrap Danny's other arm around her shoulder. He looked at her for the first time, and then looked down at himself. When his eyes rose to hers again, he looked almost defeated.

"Don't sweat it." June told him softly. "You're safe with me." Danny looked doubtful, but wasn't in much of a position to do anything about it. Juniper and Jasmine helped him into the Spectra Speeder, where June stayed with him in the back while the redhead piloted them back toward the portal entrance.

Neither Danny nor June said anything until they reached the basement with the portal, climbing out of the small shuttle. Jasmine spoke as the two girls helped Danny stumble out. "We should get you upstairs to rest." Jasmine said worriedly.

"No. Pariah Dark's on his way to get the Crown of Fire... if he gets it, it's over." Danny tried to move away from them, but his legs gave out and he fell against he side of the Spectra Speeder weakly, sliding down to his butt.

"Jasmine's right, you need to rest." June said. "My spell can only recharge your spirit, it can't heal your wounds."

"Why do you care?" Danny countered angrily. "You were trying to destroy all of us ghosts not thirty minutes ago." June winced at the sharp rebuke, but knew she deserved it.

"And I was wrong... Danny, I didn't know any of this. I didn't know you were... well... alive." She sighed and let her hands hang at her sides, meeting his angry gaze. "That's not a good excuse, but it's the truth. And I'm sorry I tried to take you out... heck I'm sorry I came here. I thought it was my duty as the Te Xuan Ze..."

"This 'Te Xuan Ze' duty includes murder?" Danny asked.

"No. It doesn't." June said, taking a deep breath. "Even if it did... it doesn't anymore." She turned away from him, clenching her fist in front of her grandly. "This will be the birth of a new Te Xuan Ze code, where ghosts are given the same treatment and respect as the rest of the magical world. A code that strikes down persecution and bias in all its forms, where ghosts don't have to hide in a hidden pocket dimension away from the rest of the world."

"Hey, don't go too far. I've dedicated my life to keeping the ghosts IN the Ghost Zone." Danny said. "A lot of them aren't very nice."

"Oh..." June put a hand to her chin. "Then I promise not to attack the good ones." She said simply. Danny grumbled and June turned away from him again. "Now you rest up and relax. I'll go take care of this Pariah Dark guy. He won't catch me off-guard again." Danny and Jasmine stared at her until she slowly leaned over to the redheaded girl. "Hey, which way is Casper High?"

Jasmine pointed off in one direction. "Right. Just sit tight and let the Te Xuan Ze do her thing!" She whirled and darted for the front door, throwing it o-en and charging down the street in the direction Jasmine indicated. The magical energies flowered through her body, pushing her faster than any normal human could go until she was almost invisible to those around her. Her hair flew behind her in a solid sheet, and she had to squint her eyes against the wind.

She saw a large sign indicating the presence of Casper High School, and turned to head toward it, leaping into the air to sail through it, her legs bending underneath her until she hit the roof in a crouch, small pieces of the roofing splitting from under the impact zone. She saw the massive horned ghost from before smashing the bleachers aside with his mace, the ring on his finger sending a soft green beam into the ground.

"Yes... there it is... my Crown of Fire." The ring pulsed green, burning the ground away until the form of a small golden crown was uncovered. It floated into the air as Pariah Dark opened his palm, grinning as it moved closer. Juniper grunted and leapt from the school roof, soaring through the air toward the floating crown, her hands outstretched and clutching at the air.

"Gotcha!" She exclaimed victoriously as she grabbed the crown out of the air, rolling on the grass and flipping to her feet with the crown in one hand. "Looking for this, kingy? Come and get it!"

"You?" Pariah Dark turned on her, his fists clenched in anger. "Even with the Te Xuan Ze gift, no mere child can stand against me. I don't need the Ring of Rage or the Crown of Fire to crush you." His voice roared.

"Then prove it and crush me!" June shouted challengingly. Pariah Dark roared and raised his mace, bringing it crashing down on top of her. June leapt out of the way, whirling on her hands to land on the turf a few feet away in a crouch. She leapt forward as he began to lift the mace, landing on it and springing off of it toward his head. She whirled through the air, her leg lashing out to slam into his face, the force of her magic sending the massive ghost king stumbling back.

June landed on the ground in a crouch, smirking as the ghost king finally steadied himself. "Funny, I don't feel crushed." Pariah Dark howled in anger, bringing his hand up as a massive ball of fire formed in his palm. June raised one hand, half a dozen small stones fluttering out of her pockets to float in front of her in a slow circle, quickly whirling like a tempest as a blast of fire flew toward her.

The stones pulsed blue as the fire struck, the power of the stones thrusting it to each side of June to burn into the ground around her. June grunted as she strained to hold the stones aloft against the ghost king's power, but soon the flames died down and she remained untouched. A slight smirk split her face as the stones began to circle in her palm.

"My turn." The stones whirled around her wrist, their power flowing into the palm of her hand in an electric surge flowing between her fingers. The power built with a powerful hum, her entire hand beginning to vibrate with the barely restrained power. Suddenly she thrust her hand forward, the lightning flying out in a massive bolt that struck instantly, slamming into the ghost king's chest. He howled and stumbled back again, one hand clutching the strike zone, which was blackened and burned.

Pariah Dark growled hatefully, his hand clutching the burn on his chest. "You know, with how scary you look and how Danny talked about you, I've gotta say, I was expecting a lot worse." The ghost king stared down at her, then a crooked grin split his horrible face as he stood up straight.

"Perhaps, child. But I think you dropped something." He held something up in his other hand, holding a golden, burning crown. June's eyes widened in surprise and looked down, realizing it was true. She'd dropped the crown. She looked up again as the ghost king moved the crown on top of his head. Once it settled into place it burst into brighter flames, shining almost as brightly as the ring on his finger.

"Okay, so you look fancier. Big deal." June huffed. Pariah Dark merely grinned, lifting his hand as another ball of flame appeared in it. June readied her defensive shield, but the blast roared straight through it, slamming into her and driving her into the ground, where she skidded halfway across the football field, finally rolling to a stop on her side, her hair a wild mess on her head. "Ughn..."

Pariah Dark laughed as he approached her, mace in hand. "Pitiful child. The most powerful Te Xuan Ze in history could not defeat me, and you believed you had a chance? Arrogant human." He gripped his mace tighter in one hand. June pushed herself up and growled, looking up at him as the mace swung toward her. She rolled forward to avoid it as it came crashing down. She leapt back at the mace and whirled, her leg lashing out, but the mace suddenly rose toward her, slamming into her.

"Gaaagh!" Juniper screamed as the mace slammed into her extended leg, sending her hurtling back through the air to slam into the ground again with a heavy thud. She rolled on the turf again, clutching her knee painfully in both arms. Pariah Dark laughed and approached her slowly.

"So glorious. The Te Xuan Ze, helpless before my power. I've been dreaming about this moment for a very long time." June groaned and pushed herself up slowly, limping on her wounded knee. It felt like it was just sprained, thankfully. If it was broken she probably wouldn't have even been able to get up.

"Well... keep dreaming... you psycho!" Juniper grunted through her pain. She reached into one pocket, pulling out the spirit orb, which was glowing bright crimson. "Enough games... I'm taking you out for good." She held out the stone, which pulsed brightly in her hand. A powerful green beam of energy shot out toward the ghost-king, looking as if it would suck him right in.

But a simple wave of the massive mace sent the beam flying in a different direction, uselessly hitting the grass. "My turn." Pariah sneered and swung the mace like a golf club. Juniper howled as it slammed into her lithe body, sending her hurtling through the air straight toward the school. She slammed into the wall, putting a body-shaped dent in the side before she slowly peeled off of it, falling to the grass with a heavy thud.

Her vision was beginning to blur as she opened her eyes, seeing the massive form of the ghost king approaching her. His finger began to flash brightly as he pointed the ring right at her. The power built up in front of his hand, almost pulsing with powerful light. "Goodbye, Te Xuan Ze." June groaned and pushed herself up with shivering limbs, but the blast was already coming. She gasped when she felt herself being pulled down into the ground by a pair of hands.

They pulled her through the ground itself, then up several floors through the school to the roof, where she saw Danny Phantom once again materializing in front of her. He panted and kneeled in front of her even as she panted for breath. His bruises and assorted wounds didn't seem to have healed at all.

"Guess we're both out of our league..." June quipped through clenched teeth.

"Only if we fight alone." Danny replied. "But I think if we work together we can take him down."

"I'm definitely open to suggestions." June said.

"Yeah, me too..." Danny replied bashfully. June narrowed her eyes, but suddenly he tackled her and they once again phased through the building just before the mace came crashing through, breaking through half of the building before coming to a stop on the bottom. Danny floated away through the walls, setting June down on the front lawn and letting them both become solid again.

"Why don't you use your red orb thing?" Danny asked.

"I tried it. It didn't work. I need more power." June replied.

"Have any spare batteries?" Danny smirked.

"Very funny." June smirked back. "These artifacts are powered by my own magical energies, and my power is limited. But I guess I have to try... do you think you can keep him busy?" She asked.

"If there's one thing I can do, it's keep a ghost's attention." Danny quipped. They both winced as the front of the school split apart, Pariah Dark cleaving his way straight through the middle and stepping out the front toward them, a victorious grin on his face. Danny rushed forward to meet him while June hung back, reaching into her pocket to pull out a small blue orb.

"I need more power..." She closed her eyes, cupping the small blue orb between her hands. She tries to block out the world around her, focusing on the gem, which began to glow softly between her hands. She could feel the stone's power flooding into her, her own power bolstered somewhat, but it still wouldn't be enough. The gem could only recharge her, not give her power beyond what she already had.

"Come on..." She wracked her brain trying to think of something, running through her small armament of enchanted artifacts in her mind. But she couldn't think of anything that could bring the big guy down. He'd resisted the Spirit Orb, an artifact especially created to destroy ghosts, how could anything else bring him down? It seemed so hopeless.

She opened her eyes when she heard a dark laugh from the other side of the schoolyard, seeing Danny on the ground in his human form, trembling in weakness while Pariah Dark stood over him. "This time, child. Stay dead." The ghost king said as he raised his hand, the ring on his finger pulsing brightly with energy. Juniper stopped thinking and sprang into action, rushing forward as fast as she could.

She managed to tackle Danny to the side before the beam could disintegrate him. They hit the grass several feet away and June whirled to her feet in time to see the massive beam moving toward them again. The six small stones floated from her pockets again, forming a larger ring in front of her as she held her hands out, the power of the magic creating a blue field. Pariah Dark's blast hit the field hard, almost cracking it instantly, but June howled against the force and held on.

"I can't... hold it..." Juniper grunted under her breath, her hair flowing out behind her head from the sheer power being directed at her. "Danny... run..." She panted.

"Neither of you will escape my wrath." Pariah Dark exclaimed darkly, pushing even more energy into June's slowly crumbling magical shield. She held it as long as she could, her magic pushed to its very limit, all of her power focused into this single shield. It couldn't last forever; this had to be the end of her. But at least she could let Danny get away.

A soft gasp escaped her lips when she suddenly felt something enter her mind, flowing through her body. An alien force she couldn't name, but she wasn't scared. It almost felt comforting, like a familiar friend come to visit. She opened her mind and allowed this new power to flow through her, reenergizing her body and pushing her power far beyond what it was before.

June howled and the power of the jewels in front of her streamed forth straight through Pariah's beam, slamming into his head and knocking him back. June flew into the air with renewed strength, her body crackling with energy both ghostly and magical so intense green electrical streaks were running across her body. She threw one hand forward, a shining blue Ecto Blast ripping instantly through the air, ripping through Pariah's body and plunging into the street beyond.

"Gaagh!" The ghost king howled in pain, clutching his wound and falling to one knee. "This isn't possible! My power is made up of both ghostly power and magic!"

"So's ours!" June howled, her voice strangely mixed in with Danny's. "And yours is thousands of years out of date! So kiss your butt goodbye!" She took in a deep breath, her fists clenching and the power welling up deep in her chest, almost exploding inside of her it was so intense. She thrust her arms out to the side and let out a Ghostly Wail, the powerful blue waves leaving visible ripples in the air, almost as it if could rip the air itself apart.

Pariah Dark tried to use his ring, but the ring itself shattered in a burst of green power, scattering uselessly to the ground as the wail ripped into the ghost king. His armor fell apart, shredding from his body as chunks of his horns and flesh peeled away. When the Ghostly Wail died down, Pariah Dark was lying back in the ruins of the street, which had been ripped to shreds by the force of the wail.

June landed in front of him, reaching into one pocket and pulling out the Spirit Orb. She looked up when he saw the beautiful form of the ghost Crystal floating toward the massive body, barely moving. She looked down at the ghost king, her eyes brimming with sadness.

"Crystal..." Pariah Dark's voice shuddered.

"Rest easy, my king." Crystal told him softly. "Forevermore." June waited a moment, then raised the Spirit Orb, a powerful green beam lashing out toward Pariah Dark. This time the energy enveloped his body, covering it like a blanket. The ghost king didn't look to be in any pain, in fact he almost looked serene as his body slowly began to dissolve, growing more transparent.

At last his body vanished completely, fading from sight and leaving only an imprint on the street to give any evidence that he'd ever existed. June looked up to watch Crystal land, then felt something shifting inside of him, a force driving his consciousness apart.

Juniper grunted and stumbled a bit as Danny Phantom fell out of her body to the street in front of her. She put one hand to her head. It was spinning like a top all of a sudden, as if her brain had been ripped in half. How did she know the strange ghost who was floating toward them? She'd never seen her before... maybe that was Danny's knowledge. Had they really been the same person?

"I thank you both. A hero should rest when his time has passed." She told them with a soft smile.

The ghostly girl turned and approached June. "Te Xuan Ze. There is still so much you must face. Rest easy, but know that your journeys will not end for some time to come. Above all, you must rest well and fight smart. I know you have the strength to face what lies ahead." She looked over at Danny. "As do you, ghost-child. You will both face so much more... I wish it were not so, but there is no denying it." She turned away from them and approached the spot in the ground where the ghost king had faded. "In time, all of the Ghost Zone will fade... as all things must pass. But it is still worth fighting for." She lifted from the ground to float away, leaving the two heroes to stare after her.

June looked over at Danny, watching him turn to look back at her somewhat sheepishly. "So..." Danny's ghostly body seemed to flash with a bright light, reverting back to his human form. "Wanna head back to my place?"

"I would, but I really should try to find Monroe and Ray-Ray." Juniper replied. "They're probably worried about me." She was actually more worried about them. Monroe was responsible enough, but Ray-Ray often got into trouble even in a place he was familiar with, there was no telling what he would do if he had a whole new city to explore on his own.

"So I guess this is goodbye then." Danny said. He almost looked bashful, running one foot across the ground and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. Actually, it was kind of cute.

"Hmm... we'll see." June smiled. "If what that ghost said is true, I think we may see each other again sooner than you'd think." June really liked that idea, but something was still nagging at her. "And... I really am sorry I tried to, y'know, destroy you all."

"Hey, don't sweat it. You'd be amazed how often it happens, seriously." Danny chuckled. June chuckled with him. She knew how that felt perfectly. She just never imagined she would wind up playing the role of 'bad guy'. "And I guess I learned something from all this. And getting rid of Pariah Dark once and for all isn't a bad thing. So... yeah." Danny blushed slightly.

Juniper gave him a tender, almost flirty smile. "Yeah... take care of yourself, Danny." She turned to walk away, waving at him lightly as she walked.

"You too, Juniper." Danny waved back at her, smiling.

"It's June." She called back to him, waving over her shoulder. She kept walking, not looking back until she'd rounded the next street corner. She would have liked to stay, but there wasn't much else to say, and she had responsibilities. So she rushed along toward the hotel they'd found the night before, making her way up to the room. To her shock she found Monroe and Ray-Ray both still asleep.

Monroe opened his eyes and yawned when he heard the door. "Oh... is it mornin' already?" He asked sleepily.

"You two have been asleep this whole time?" June said incredulously. "What if I needed backup?"

"Backup? For what?" Monroe asked confusedly. June slapped her forehead and sighed.

"Nevermind... just both of you get up. We're leaving now." Juniper said roughly. Monroe stared up at her for a moment, and she sighed. "Look I'm sorry, I've had a rough night, okay?"

"I expect to hear quite a story when we get back home." Monroe told her.

"Oh I'll have it for you. I'll wait downstairs." June left the room and made her way back out to the sidewalk, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She waited a few minutes before suddenly she saw Danny in his human form walking toward her. "Oh, hey. Did you forget something?" June asked.

"Not really... just wanted to see you off properly." Danny said, blushing slightly. June quirked one eyebrow curiously. "Hey, we have to stick together right? Te Xuan Ze and ghost-boy... so I dunno, I thought instead of just walking away we could keep in touch..." Danny reached into his pocket and took out a small note card, holding it out to her.

June took it and looked down at it. It was a phone number written on a card that had the words 'Fenton Paper' dyed on it. "Fenton, huh?" June looked up at the boy slyly. Danny blushed and coughed. "Sure... I'll keep in touch." She tucked the card safely into one of her jeans pockets, giving Danny a smile. He looked like he wanted to respond, but before he could Ray-Ray and Monroe emerged from the hotel.

"Okay, let's go home now. This snooze fest was not worth the screaming we're gonna get from mom for being out all night." Ray-Ray grumbled darkly as he turned to walk down the sidewalk.

"Hold up lad, wait for those who know where they're goin'!" Monroe rushed to keep up from him. June looked after them, then smiled back at Danny, pushing off from the wall.

"I'll definitely keep in touch." June told him. She walked up to him and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the cheek, giving him a smile. "Take care of yourself until then." She pushed away from him and turned to follow her brother and dog away from Amity Park and the ghost-boy. This had been a heck of an adventure, and a learning experience for her. One she would carry with her for a long time to come, especially since she had every intention of calling Danny back.

"Hey, does anybody remember where we parked the flyin' carpet?" Monroe asked. When she finally caught up with them. June and Ray-Ray stared at him, then exchanged a quick glance before they both broke into a rapid-fire blaming session. Yes, things would be more interesting from now on... but some things just never changed.

THE END

"Te Xuan Ze and ghost boy together... good. The stage has been set for the clash of the worlds." Clockwork turned away from the dual images playing in his lair, putting his hands together in front of him as his middle-aged form shifted into that of a toddler. "We'll just see if they have what it takes to make it through the trials ahead." 


End file.
